Christmas Cookies Are Boring
by RunicSiren
Summary: Seto is determined not to lose to Yugi again, even if it means giving out Christmas presents and cooking. Seto/femRyou


I finally have time to sit down and type this! I'm telling you, working until midnight or one in the morning is killing my creativity, that and customers who can't help themselves to save their lives. Argh, never work retail if you can avoid it.

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine, not even close. Sad. Don't own Chex Mix either.

Summary: Seto is determined not to lose to Yugi again, even if it means giving out Christmas presents and cooking. Seto/femRyou

Rating: T

Warnings: FemRyou, a bit of OOCness on Seto's part.

Note: The recipes used in the story are amazing, and if you haven't tried them you really should.

Christmas Cookies Are Boring

Standing in front of the door, Seto realized he had not thought this through thoroughly. The plan had been to give Ryou the present and somehow steer the conversation in such a way that he could ask about her relationship with Yugi without seeming desperate.

He had not planned on what to do if she wasn't home. The CEO was debating with himself if he should just leave the present for her to find, wait, or come back later. He really didn't want to leave it, it was after all a new Kaiba Corp. prototype and he didn't want to take the risk of a competitor stealing it before Ryou found it. On the other hand, he had work to do and couldn't wait around very long, but if he came back later he might run into this problem again.

"Kaiba-san?" Well, that solved his problem for him.

He turned around to see Ryou walking slowly toward him down the hallway, grocery bags weighing down her arms. "It's good to see you, Kaiba-san," she said with a smile as she reached him.

Seto truly hated how that smile made his stomach do flip flops. Really, he did.

He watched as she set some of the bags on the floor so that she could dig through her bag for her apartment key. "Please, come in," she said to him as she bent down to pick the bags back up.

It didn't show on his face but Seto was beginning to doubt his plan as he stepped over the threshold and looked around the apartment. The small living room was furnished with a couch, coffee table, TV, and a lamp table. It seemed rather cozy. The dining area was more like a transition between the living room and kitchen, allowing the floor design to swing around so that the kitchen was facing the living room, separated by a high counter. Off to his other side was a short hallway that Seto assumed lead to the bathroom and bedroom.

"I'll be with you in just a moment, Kaiba-san. Make yourself at home," Ryou's voice came from the kitchen. Seto walked further into the apartment, looking over the counter to watch as Ryou shoved pints of vanilla ice cream into the freezer.

He then looked down at the rest of the bags and raised an eyebrow. "Did you get enough cereal?"

There were no less than five boxes of Chex Mix. "It's not all for me. It's to make puppy chow."

Seto just continued to stare at her as Ryou pulled out jars of peanut butter and bags of chocolate chips and powdered sugar. "I'm guessing from your look Mokuba didn't share last year like I told him to."

"No," the brunette answered as Ryou began to unpack frozen meatballs, jars of grape jelly, and chili sauce. "Does that go into it also?"

"No," Ryou said with a light laugh, plugging in the crock pot that had been sitting on the counter and pulling out a large pot from under the counter. "These are for Yugi's Christmas party. They went over so well last year that I thought I'd make them again."

"Meatballs cooked in grape jelly and chili sauce," Seto said, eyeing the ingredients wearily.

"Well, if you're so doubtful about it why don't you help me," she said softly, expecting him to scoff and tell her not to be an idiot.

But he surprised her. Seto placed his package on the counter and walked around it to stand next to her. "What do you need me to do?"

Ryou stared at him with wide eyes for a moment, before deciding that if the CEO really wanted to help she wasn't going to deny him. "Here," she said as she handed him a spoon. "The grape jelly and chili sauce need to be mixed on the stove before being added to the meatballs."

Ryou shoved all the jars over to him, the young man still looking at them skeptically before shrugging and began opening the jars. "You know, most people just make cookies this time of year."

"Which is why Christmas cookies are boring," the white haired girl responded as she measured out the chocolate chips before placing them in the microwave. "Besides, puppy chow tastes better."

Seto still wasn't sure about this whole process as he began to stir the sauce, watching Ryou dump cereal into a large bowl. She hummed happily as she did so, making Seto's chest constrict. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to come here after all. He shouldn't have let Mokuba talk him into this.

He froze when he thought of his brother. Ryou had said she'd given Mokuba this stuff last year, meaning he knew she was going to be making it again. That little weasel had planned this whole thing.

"Kaiba-san, are you all right?" Seto realized he was glaring down at the sauce. "If you have other things to do I understand."

"If I didn't want to be here I wouldn't."

Ryou nodded, setting down the stick of butter she had grabbed from the refrigerator. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but why did you come here? You're not really the type to do something without a reason."

A silence fell between them, Ryou mixing butter, melted chocolate, and peanut butter together as she waited for an answer. The soft sound of her at work and her humming, which had started up again, put him at ease as he thought of an answer.

"Here," she said softly, taking the spoon from him to taste the sauce. She nodded her herself, white hair brushing against her cheeks. As he watched her take the top off the crock pot and add the sauce, Seto knew he couldn't lose to Yugi this time, not when it came to Ryou.

"Are you going out with Yugi?" he finally asked as Ryou replaced the lid, startling the woman. He seemed to be doing that a lot today.

She smiled at him when she finally shook her head. "Yugi and I are just friends."

"And that's all you want to be?" He had seen them together so much in the past three years, and they had always seemed so close, so comfortable in each other's presence. The fact that it was Yugi with her finally made Seto admit to himself how he felt about the white haired woman.

"Kaiba-san," she sighed, "I know how much you hated being mixed up with what happened to the Millennium Items and I can't explain it without bringing them up."

There was a pause, Ryou moving to mix the cereal with the peanut butter, butter, and chocolate concoction. "Can you open those, please?" she asked softly, nodding to the bags of powdered sugar.

As he picked one up Seto said, "Explain it to me anyways."

It seemed Ryou was all out of startled moments for the day. She smiled softly down at the contents of the bowl before nodding. "When the spirits left, it was as if they took a part of us with them as well. No one else went through what we did, so no one else could really understand it. Sometimes, it gets really lonely. Sometimes, that loneliness is crushing, so we lean on each other for support."

Seto thought this over as he wrestled with the last bag. He didn't notice Ryou's eyes widen, and her shout of 'Wait!' came too late. The bag ripped open, a giant puff of powdered sugar filling the air, covering the CEO.

When it settled Seto's shoulders, face, and hair were completely coated in white. He looked over to Ryou slowly, glaring at her when he saw her clutching the edge of the counter for support, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hide her laughter. When she looked up and met his eyes she lost control, letting out a few giggles.

"I'm sorry, Kaiba-san. It's just that, well…" She pulled out her cell phone, quickly taking a picture before the CEO could protest. "See?" she said, turning the phone around so he could see.

She was right, he looked ridiculous. That picture had to be destroyed. He reached out for the phone, Ryou giving a little 'eep,' pressing a few buttons before the phone slipped from her hands. Seto glared down at the locked screen, before glaring back at the phone's owner. "What's the password?"

Ryou just shook her head. "Nope." She measured out powdered sugar and chocolate/peanut butter covered cereal into baggies, trying to ignore him.

"Pet's name?" Seto asked, but Ryou just continued her work. "Locker combination?" She filled the last bag and sealed it before she began to shake it, making sure the powdered sugar covered all of the cereal. "Birthday?"

Seto smirked as the woman paused in her movements just slightly. Ryou was a horrible liar, even when she didn't have to say anything. He entered 0902 for September 2, Ryou's birthday, but quickly discovered that wasn't it. He then entered 0707, Mokuba's birthday, but that wasn't it either. He paused, looking at Ryou, the girl still doing the best she could to ignore him, before staring back at the phone. She hadn't, had she? He entered 1025, October 25, his own birthday, the phone finally unlocking.

"You used my birthday for your password?"

Seto didn't think it was possible for anyone to blush that much. She was actually turning purple. He let out a confident chuckled as he stepped forward, cradling her face between his hands, and slowly leaning down to kiss her. She stiffened a first, but slowly returned the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Here, I have something for you," he said once he pulled away, keeping one arm around her waist as he reached for the package with the other.

Ryou took it curiously, blushing again when his hand linger upon her own. She unwrapped it slowly, pulling out a 6 inch tall figurine of the Change of Heart, its hair white instead of blonde. "Kaiba-san, it's beautiful."

"First off, I want you to call me Seto from now on. Secondly, it's a new prototype I had made. Here," he said, placing her hand over the almost invisible button on the back of the figurine. "You'll press this and say your name and a password.

Ryou nodded, pressing the button. An automated voice came from the statue, asking for her name, which she said and confirmed. The voice then asked her for a password, to which she said, "One-zero-two-five," causing the man holding her to smirk again.

Once she confirmed the password the little figurine's eyes blinked slowly open before smiling softly at its owner, offering the heart it held in its hands to her. Ryou gasped softly, bringing the figurine closer to study it. As she did so it tilted its head to the side, causing the woman to let out a happily surprised noise. "Ka-Seto," she corrected when he pinched her side lightly, "this is amazing."

"Interactive Duel Monsters, the latest in Kaiba Corp. technology," he said proudly.

"Thank you," she whispered softly. "But, I don't have anything for you."

Seto gently took the Change of Heart from her hands, placing it on the counter, before embracing the young woman and pulling her into another kiss, this one longer and more passionate than the first. "You're more than enough."

"No, nu-uh, no way, over my dead body!" The two looked up that Joey and Yugi were watching them over the counter. Yugi was still staring at them in shock, but Joey had moved past that, becoming enraged that Seto had so much as dared lay a finger on Ryou.

"Stay out of it, mutt. She's old enough to make her own decisions."

Ryou and Yugi both sighed, shaking their heads. "Are you ready for the party?" he asked.

"Almost, I just need to pack the puppy chow. Do you mind grabbing the meatballs?"

"Nope!" Yugi said happily as unplugged the crockpot and walked toward the door with it, Ryou on his heels. "We're leaving for the party now," he announced. "Kaiba-san, would you like to join us?"

"No!"

"You know, I think I will, just until you geeks annoy me too much," the brunette said, walking over to them and slipping an arm around Ryou's waist, causing Joey to seethe where he stood, glaring daggers at Seto's back.

He just smirked, which turned into a soft smile when Ryou smiled up at him, causing his stomach to act funny again. He would never admit it, but he considered that Christmas his best.

/

Hmm, I don't know how happy I am with this one, but I really want to post a Christmas story and this is all the time I have before the holidays, so up it goes. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone!


End file.
